Which flasher to buy??

Looking at purchasing either a Vexilar FL-8 or a MarCum VX-1. Need some help on which one to buy. Thanks!

Marcum every time.

When you are buying a flasher for a said amount of money you are going to have to do some reading on all of the units out here. Man its apples and oranges. Its all what you like to have on a units.

Welcome!!!

see which have features you are looking for. I really like my marcum,and service was great whwn i needed it. another option may be the showdown.

Between the two I would get the VX-1. But then again I have never owned a Vex. Just two Marcums that both run strong and my old one is the predecesor to the VX-1.

between an 8 and a 1 if you are dead set on those 2 units I have had them both- I would go 8 personally- the 1 is noisy, and really noisy at times.

I got rid of my vex because it was way too noisy! Like said earlier the target separation and zoom would be the deciding factors if it were me.

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I got rid of my vex because it was way too noisy! Like said earlier the target separation and zoom would be the deciding factors if it were me.

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I’ve noticed the noise also. The other day I went to a marina to see if anyone was fishing and there was a guy out on the ice about 20-30 feet from the dock. I walked out on the dock to see how he was doing and could hear the buzzing from his flasher clear as day. I don’t know what model he had, as it was pointing away from me.. but it was a vexilar on a pro pack. Would drive me nuts if I had to sit and listen to that all day.

Fleet farm has the VX1 pro on sale right now for 249.99 and I also saw the FL8 genz for 269.00 I picked up the Marcum last night as a second unit. Too bad that the thing did not work properly. The dial would jump up and down as if I was lifting and dropping the transducer. I would expect more from a brand new unit. I am glad it was just a second flasher as I also had my H-Bird with so all wasnt lost. After fishing today I swung by FF to exchange it for another one. Hope this one isnt a lemon. BTW the exchange process at FF was no hassle what so ever.

I have a fl18 and lx5. I bought the lx5, after owning the fl18 for 8 years, because people touted the target separation and I thought the movable zoom would be nice. I didn’t think the target separation was notably better and I really didn’t use the movable zoom at all other than for fish on the bottom. In addition to my disappointment about the hype, there were immediate issues of the unit working correctly… now for full disclosure I bought it “lightly used” from a certain TV personality most of us on the site know so “lightly used” may need to be interpreted differently but after a post to this forum I learned I wasn’t alone in experiencing the issue on marcum units. I’ve never had an issue with my fl18 and I used it as a flasher on my boat 5 summers too…never needing to replace brushes or anything else. Now when I go ice fishing I take both but the lx5 is the backup or loaner unit. Vexilar has my vote at this time

I have been fishing with Vexilars for many years and have just recently switched to Marcums and must say that there is much better target seperation along with much brighter easy to see color display not to mention the nice carrying case that comes with the units and easy to plug in and charge with ease. Also comparing the fl-8 to the Marcum lx_1 you will be getting bottom zoom that you would not be getting with the Vexilar FL-8

Paul Delaney

http://www.lateeyessportfishing.com

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Fleet farm has the VX1 pro on sale right now for 249.99 and I also saw the FL8 genz for 269.00 I picked up the Marcum last night as a second unit. Too bad that the thing did not work properly. The dial would jump up and down as if I was lifting and dropping the transducer. I would expect more from a brand new unit. I am glad it was just a second flasher as I also had my H-Bird with so all wasnt lost. After fishing today I swung by FF to exchange it for another one. Hope this one isnt a lemon. BTW the exchange process at FF was no hassle what so ever.

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Did you charge the battery first? the screen jumps around when the battery is low on mine.

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Did you charge the battery first? the screen jumps around when the battery is low on mine.

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Yep and even hooked it up to a spare 9a battery.

Read the specs online and it should be easy to see that Marcum offers a lot more! Most of my friends have the FL-8 and they are all jealous of the botom zoom and bright colors on my VX-1 and they all said there next flasher will definently be a Marcum!! And the only way I will get rid of mine will be when I upgrade to the digital series by Marcum!!

One other thing Vexilar always has iterference when near other flashers, Marcum has none…

Picked up the VX-1 at fleet farm this evening and will be trying it out tomorrow afternoon, Hope all is well.

Bad units happen. I bought the pre-cursor to the Marcum’s many years ago from Burger Bros. Zercom Color Point. The first unit was broken. Took it right back and got the one I have to this day. All these years of use including summer bow duty on the boat and it runs perfect. I would take it anywhere except for the fact it has zero noise rejection so I cant use it cloe to other flashers.

I think you made the right choice!! I was in the same situation a year ago and did a ton of research online and surfing many online forums. Everytime someone asks a question like this it turns into a p@8ss%ng match. What I did was to decide on what “level/budget” unit that I wanted based on where and the type of fishing that I do. My three choices were the hummingbird ice-35, vexilar vx1p, vexilar fl-8. I created a spread sheet that compares eac unit on a level playing field. I had 10 different comparisions such as price, warranty, target seperation, zoom, was a case included, battery type, etc. After you compared them side by side on paper the choise was obvious. Had my marcum vx 1p for a year now and I’m very happy with my decision.

PS Ford makes a better truck then Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota!!

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Picked up the VX-1 at fleet farm this evening and will be trying it out tomorrow afternoon, Hope all is well.

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Great choice! I am sure you will love it!